Surprising reversal by courts, mayors on parks tax will boost Fresno’s quality of life
Anthony, his mother and younger brother, lived in a barracks-style apartment off First Street. From inside their living room, you could hear the hum of the 41 & 180 interchange.
Romain Park, the only “green space” in their southeast Fresno neighborhood, consisted of two basketball courts, a small playground and skatepark and a field of mostly dead grass and weeds. None looked all that inviting. So when I suggested a trip to Woodward Park for our first Big Brothers Big Sisters outing, Anthony’s eyes got big.
Anthony was 11 when we met and had lived in Fresno his entire life. We rode our bikes along the bluff before dropping down to where the Jensen River Ranch scrapes the San Joaquin River. That’s when he told me he had never been to Woodward Park before. Nor had he ever been to the Sierra.
My jaw nearly hit the dirt. To him, these natural surroundings a short freeway drive from home might as well have been from a different planet.
What’s become of Anthony, I can’t say. We lost touch years ago. But he’s who I immediately thought of after absorbing Thursday’s decision by California’s Fifth District Court of Appeal. Measure P, which we thought had fallen short of the voter majority it needed two years ago, was declared a winner.
No way!
If that wasn’t enough surprising good news for one afternoon, along came a statement co-authored by Fresno’s current and future mayors saying the city accepts the ruling and will not seek to appeal.
A double surprise considering Lee Brand and Jerry Dyer both actively campaigned against Measure P, drawing the ire of myself and others.
But now, all of a sudden, everything is hunky dory. Measure P passes, and we won’t stand in the way.
Mayoral change in tune
“We normally don’t comment on pending litigation, but today’s Fifth District Court of Appeal Measure P ruling is different,” Brand said. “The city of Fresno will abide by the court’s decision once it becomes final.”
“It is time for us to come together as a community and support the results of Measure P,” Dyer added. “I look forward to working with the City Council and community members as we utilize these dollars to beautify our parks and trails and meet the needs of our youth for decades to come.”
Perhaps both are still giddy from Wednesday’s news about Southwest Airlines. Or more likely, just pragmatic politics. Brand is at the end of his run. No need to keep up this fight. And Dyer’s in the rosiest spot of all. His administration will get to spend the money raised by the 3/8-cent citywide sales tax without the cost of much, if any, political capital.
On one hand, Dyer gets to please parks advocates that generally oppose him on other matters. On the other, he can look at the No on P crowd and shrug, “Nothing I can do. The judge gave his ruling.”
There are many who emerge victorious. Topping the list is Fresno Building Healthy Communities and president/CEO Sanrda Celedon, the nonprofit that launched the #Parks4All campaign in 2015 and sued the city over the Measure P vote in 2019.
Without Fresno BHC and Celedon, this grassroots movement never leaves the drawing board, let alone crosses the finish line. Between Fresno BHC’s widespread park improvement efforts, its key role in assisting the Fresno County Department of Public Health distribute the COVID-19 vaccine to poor, rural communities and her own work with the city’s police reform commission, Celedon is a rising force in local politics.
Tax funds trails, arts, litter removal
But, really, there are so many winners. Fresno’s parks and green spaces rank near the bottom of every national survey for a reason: They’re insufficient for a city of 545,000. Fresno needs more parks and to take better care of the ones it has. In general, the further south you go, the more glaring the need.
On a per-capita basis, Fresno spends less than half, or even less than a third, on parks compared to California cities of similar size. Measure P will help close that gap by investing money where it’s most needed, in accordance with the city’s parks master plan.
And, remember, we’re not just talking about parks. Measure P will help fund walking and biking trails, arts and after-school programs as well as litter removal from the city’s street medians and freeways.
All for about $3.25 per month to the average Fresno family — less than the cost of a latte.
No one likes paying taxes, but at least these dollars aren’t being shipped elsewhere. The money stays right here, with a fixed purpose. Potentially transforming some of Fresno’s largest deficiencies into a strength and source of pride.
Really, though, the biggest beneficiaries are kids like Anthony who grow up inside a piecemeal grid of stoplights and strip malls that become their entire world. This is for them.
